


A Fool's Mistake

by JTR01



Category: Star Wars Legends - All Media Types, The Star Wars (Comic)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-27
Updated: 2020-04-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:13:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23880604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JTR01/pseuds/JTR01
Summary: A year after the destruction of the Space Fortress, Valorum makes a mistake only fools make when he allowed himself to be cornered. Based on The Star Wars Comic.





	A Fool's Mistake

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own Star Wars.

When Espaa Valorum had been twelve, his father Sheev had explained that there was honour in combat, but only fools made the mistake of allowing themselves to get cornered. Because no matter how skilled the warrior, being in a confined space with seven angry soldiers ready to kill him was never a good idea. Like always, Valorum's inability to follow such simple advice from his father was so astonishing he could be described as a master of it. In defense he had simply expected to his to happen sooner, not a whole year after he joined the Rebellion.

Right now those seven men were Rebel soldiers, dedicating their lives to free the galaxy from the tyranny that is Cos Dashit's Empire. Many had been happy citizens of the Empire, but in the years since Dashit took power he has slowly changed the galaxy forever in such a short time. While the rich and powerful have always profited from the suffering of the poor and defenceless, to many that had been something experienced by those on the far outer rim of the galaxy. Not on core worlds, where people now have to fear the very government meant to keep them safe and was now a danger to many non-human races. When Valorum stopped to think about it, he was almost impressed by how Dashit had made the galaxy impossible to recognize. The Jedi-Bendu have been hunted to almost complete extinction, the Knights of Sith are now the Emperor's personal bodyguards and most respected warriors, more planets have been force into the Empire than ever before, and if you weren't human you were lucky to be not shot on sight.

Valorum observed the men who had formed around him in his room, private because as Leia has correctly assumed the soldiers wouldn't like to share a room with a Sith Knight. Of course he got the sense that this led the soldiers got thinking him aloof and arrogant, too important to share a room with commoners like them. It made Valorum wish he had hidden his status as a prince, and he doubted anything he could say could make them change their minds. He raised his hands, surprising everyone, before one hand slowly removed the laser sword from his belt. He saw one, a youth who barely looked older than the queen Leia, flinch in fear and others grip the gun at their holsters in terrified anticipation. Valorum almost smirked from the faces they made when he put his laser sword on top of a shelf, leaving him without any weapons.

"As you can see, I am unarmed." Valorum told them calmly, slowly turning so they could see he was telling the truth before facing them again. "So I am going to ask you this only once, are you really going to attack an unarmed man who has never done anything to you?"

"Never done anything? You and the Knights of Sith are the reason why any of this is happening!" the ringleader of this group told Valorum angrily, his voice getting louder with every word. "You hunted the Jedi-Bendu and killed them all, for crimes everyone knows they were innocent of, to help Dashit seize power. Because of you my family's farm was burned to the ground simply for caring for a Jedi they found injured. They didn't know who she was, they just saw someone who needed help."

"And I am sorry for that, truly I am. It shouldn't have happened, but I am not responsible for what others have done." Valorum told him, hoping they would see the sincerity in his features. Yes, Dashit had indeed changed the galaxy and returned the Knights of Sith to heights of power they haven't had for centuries, but it came at a cost. Their honour, as Valorum found out when he was tasked with helping Darth Vader capture the Jedi-Bendu general Luke Skywalker. They were no longer skilled warriors bound by a code of honour, instead they were becoming nothing more than weapons to be used in subjecting the innocent, spitting on the traditions Valorum held so close to his heart.

Ever since he joined the Rebellion, that has been what keeps him loyal. The fact that the power and respect the Sith have now is not worth the risk of becoming monsters. He knows that if the Rebellion wins, the new Empire won't have a place for the Knights of the Sith and they will be reduced to what they were before. He also knows that there won't be a place for him with the Knights of the Sith if that happens, nor with anyone loyal to the Knights. He imagined his father had already disowned him and his title of prince was nothing more than an affectation now. Part of him hates the things he has done and wishes he would abandon his principles, but that wasn't how he was raised and that wasn't how a Knight of Sith should act. They didn't cower when confronted by harsh truths and they didn't give in simply because it was the easy thing to do, so neither would he.

"So, since there is clearly no chance I can persuade you to leave, I guess we might as well as get started?" Valorum suggested politely, wondering who would be the one to throw the first punch. He could tell that despite their greater numbers they feared the legendary skills of a Sith Knight and the possibility of him having some kind of plan.

After a few seconds, it looked like the giant amongst them would be the one brave enough. A muscular man, the giant approached Valorum and swung his fist towards Valorum's face. Much to the man's shock, his fist collided with the metal wall as with expert speed Valorum had used his hands to force the attack away from him. The giant clenched his fist in again, and at that point everyone leaped towards Valorum.

Valorum had never been a big believer in allowing instinct to take over, despite the fact his teachers believed that over thinking on a situation can get you killed just as easily as being unprepared. And in this moment he sadly had to agree with them, as thinking would result in hesitation which they would all take advantage of. So instead, as one tried to grab his arm got Ryan and hold him down, he allowed instinct to take over. He delivered a light strike to his attacker's throat, not enough to kill him, but enough to seriously hurt him. His attacker let go as he gasped for breath, allowing Valorum to deal with the rest.

The problem with this situation is that he can't seriously hurt any of them. The one still trying to regain his breath will be fine in about a minute and it won't even leave a bruise, so he can defend himself. But only to a certain point, because any serious harm would allow them to convince their superiors that he attacked them. He had to somehow win this fight while at the same time making sure not to seriously hurt them, or he had to take the easy option and escape the situation. The latter was more preferable.

When he had his arms free he leaped up, grabbing the pipes above with his hands. Thankfully they were only a little warm, not boiling hot, and swing his body upwards to avoid anyone grabbing his legs. One of his attackers missed him and before anyone could react, he used his momentum to launch himself forward away from the crowd. He rolled when he hit the floor to prevent himself from slowing down and raced to the console panel of his door, pressing the open button quickly.

Sadly his attackers were faster than he expected as he felt multiple arms grab his body and drag him back just as the door slid open. He felt himself being lifted off the ground by many, and he desperately pulled an arm free to start hitting at the crowd below him. They dropped him and he landed with the ground, and despite his focus the shock of the pain disoriented him. His head banged against the floor and he found it hard to see, but that became the last of his problems as he felt his attackers deliver powerful kicks to his body. At this point, as a foot struck his face and he felt the presence of blood around his lips, Valorum had accepted he was unlikely going to accept this alive unless he fought back properly. But if he did that, the whole crew would turn against him and he couldn't fight against all of them. The fact was, he was going to die unless he was really lucky.

"Hey! What's going on?!" a voice called out and Valorum heard the sound of a laser sword be lit, while he could sense the men around him slowly back off. Valorum slowly looked up to see Starkiller, glaring at the men with his laser sword pointing at them.

"Starkiller. What are you doing here?" Valorum asked with a cough, pushing himself up to his feet while trying to ignore every bolt of pain moving caused.

"What's happening? Why were they attacking you?" Starkiller questioned as he observed his attackers, who looked at each other awkwardly. Valorum almost laughed at their faces a story realised that none of them were actually hurt while Valorum is fine, and the fear that grew when they remembered how Starkiller didn't treat Valorum the same way Skywalker did. He would actually believe Valorum when he told him what they had done.

"Oh, I asked these fine gentleman to help me train. Always a good idea to practice against multiple opponents, as the situation comes up more than you would think." Valorum answered with a smile, looking at his attackers. "Isn't that right?

"Uh, yeah. That's right. You did a good job. Come on guys, we have stuff to be doing." the ringleader eventually said after a few seconds of complete confusion, and his friends slowly followed him out the door. Valorum watched as Starkiller stepped out of the way, glaring at each man until finally they were alone, watching each other while Starkiller turned his laser sword off.

"Well, if that's everything I need to get some sleep. Busy day tomorrow." Valorum told Starkiller after a few seconds of silence, gesturing for him to leave. However the teenager didn't move and just looked at Valorum with confusion, before finally speaking.

"Why didn't you defend yourself? Why did you lie?" he asked simply as Valorum approached weakly, and he slowly moved backwards into he was outside his room.

Valorum wondered if he should answer Starkiller, but then wondered what the point would be. So without a word he pressed the button at the wall which shut the doors, and he made his way to his bed where his medical kit was kept. At the back of his mind, he hoped this will put off anyone else from trying to attack him, but the cynical part of his mind sadly doubted that would happen. He pushed those thoughts out of his mind, knowing that he did indeed have a busy day tomorrow and it wouldn't look good if he seemed injured. He had to keep proving he was of use to the Rebellion.

**Author's Note:**

> Tell me what you think and if there are any spelling mistakes or sentences that don't make sense. Also could you tell me how you think I did with the fight, as I'm on the fence about it. While Valorum did save Leia and was given a medal, I doubt he would be forgiven that easily by everyone else considering his past as a respected member of the Knights of Sith. So logically this is something that would happen, especially since Cos Dashit was never defeated at the end of the comic. Also I wanted to provide a little insight into why Valorum would join them as all you get from him is that he is disgusted by the Empire's lack of honour, so I thought it would be fun to provide a little more detail about his views on the Empire, Rebellion and Knights.


End file.
